9 FOMO techniques you can use in your digital marketing

What is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)?

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is about leveraging the fear we all have of losing out on amazing opportunities, experiences and so on, no matter what they might be. And use of FOMO is very effective for digital marketing strategies.

FOMO taps into our human nature.

People are naturally risk-averse

As a species, we are typically risk-averse, especially when it comes to our purchases. We don’t want to spend money on a product or service that doesn’t measure up to our standards and expectations.

We also fear a missed opportunity

However, on the flip side, it’s this same risk-avoidance tendency that leads to the possibility of regret in the future for not having taken an opportunity.

For example, you could be browsing a shoe website and spot a pair of boots that piques your interest. After some browsing of the product description and customer reviews, you move on. But you later see an ad for those same boots, except this time, it appears with a limited-time discount. This is exactly what could trigger your FOMO about this product and can potentially persuade you to finally make the purchase.

With the right FOMO techniques, such as the following nine, you can further persuade your audience to jump on the opportunities you’re offering. One note before we dive in: every technique below needs to be grounded in something true. We'll cover why that matters, and what regulators now expect, later in this article.

Your messaging matters

Always look at your messaging and ask yourself if there is a sense of urgency.

Convey urgency

Strong verbs and an active voice are important components of this. Think:

• Time's running out
• Last chance to buy
• Don't miss this

It's about persuading your potential customers to act now, not later.

Set time limits

Deadlines naturally put pressure on all of us. Setting a time limit for the availability of a product or a particular sale is critical for many consumers to finally act (even if somewhat impulsively).

Set a deadline

Just make sure that your deadline is absolute and real. While the occasional extension can be effective, doing so too often will dilute the effectiveness of all of your time limits, and your audience will simply get used to your extensions. Worse, a countdown timer that resets or an offer that quietly reappears after it “expires” is now the kind of fake urgency regulators are actively fining businesses over. More on that below.

Consider using a countdown clock, one of DailyStory's open source plugins, on your social media, website, so on to instill that looming deadline for your offer. Pair it with an abandoned cart email series for shoppers who need one more nudge before the deadline passes.

Share social proof

Social proof essentially boils down to sharing what other customers think of your product or service or simply how others are purchasing from you.

Testimonials are powerful

Testimonials appearing not just on your social media but along the purchasing journey on your website is a common tactic for social proof.

It's the idea that if others are trusting your brand and having a great experience, you could miss out by not making that purchase, too. This makes consumers more likely to purchase from you.

Tools to capture social proof

In addition, there are several social proof tools, such as True or TrustPulse, that can integrate with your website and show visitors real stats, like how many people have purchased a particular product on your site.

Work with influencers when possible

Nothing quite induces FOMO like a celebrity or influencer endorsement. So, even simply featuring a quote from one can help boost your sales.

Consumers have a range of trust when it comes to celebrities, no matter how big or small. Once you have an influencer endorsement, be sure to share it across channels, including your website. If the endorsement is paid or gifted, make sure your influencer discloses that clearly. The FTC requires it, and audiences trust disclosed partnerships more than they distrust them.

Use user-generated content

While celebrities and influencers can be great, regular people can be even more trustworthy to your audience.

User generated content is more trusted.

About 79 percent of consumers say user-generated content (UGC) influences their purchasing decisions, according to a 2026 industry analysis from Backlinko.

Solicit media from customers

Why not leverage that by soliciting photos and/or videos of happy customers using your product in some way?

Consider a contest

You can run a UGC contest with a prize. It can be an organic hashtag campaign, where you seed the hashtag with some great content of your own to get the ball rolling for your users.

For example, jewelry company Iz&Co (@izandco on Instagram) shares images of clients' personal stories (such as weddings and proposals) in addition to their more branded content.

Create bundle opportunities

What's better than purchasing one product you're excited about? Getting another one (or two) with it at a discounted price, of course.

Bundles have "value" perception

Bundles are a great way to take a selection of your products or services and offer them at a discounted price. The complementary items are something that can create FOMO for the consumer.

It's also a way to upsell your potential customers.

Play your social media channels against each other

Your audience on Facebook likely differs from your followers on Instagram or X, and so on.

Go behind the scenes cross-channel

But you can leverage FOMO here strategically by broadcasting that a special behind-the-scenes video, for example, will only be shared via your Instagram Story on your other platforms.

The FOMO from this cross-posting tactic could lead some of your followers to follow you on other platforms as well.

Just be sure to spread the love around. You don't always want to make big announcements on X, for example, and then leave the crumbs for your Instagram audience.

Learn what social media platform would be best for your company.

Of course, this could apply to app-only deals as well.

Leverage competition

Nothing can create FOMO more than the possibility of limited inventory. And someone else getting a product or service instead of you, of course.

Create perceptions of scarcity, honestly

You've likely noticed websites that say “only 1 left in stock” or that this hotel was “booked 3 times in the past hour.”

Giving the sense that someone else could get what you might want can help drive FOMO and your ultimate decision to purchase, as long as the number is real. If your inventory system says 40 units are in stock, don't display “only 1 left.” If nobody actually booked that hotel room in the past hour, don't say they did.

Fake urgency and scarcity are now an active legal risk

The Federal Trade Commission classifies fabricated countdown timers, invented “only X left” claims, and fake activity notifications (“28 people added this to their cart” when only two did) as dark patterns, a category of deceptive design the FTC has been actively enforcing against since 2022. Enforcement has only intensified since then, with penalties that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars per violation, and it applies regardless of whether the deception was intentional or just sloppy implementation.

The fix is simple: only ever display urgency and scarcity signals that reflect real, current data pulled from your actual inventory or activity systems. A genuinely low stock count or a real limited-time offer is still one of the most effective FOMO techniques available. It just has to be true.

Consider an exit-intent pop-up

Just as you're about to lose that possibly interested consumer, an exit-intent pop-up could make the difference between disappearance and a purchase.

Capture customer data

An exit-intent pop-up is a pop-up window that appears as a website visitor goes to close the tab or browser (that particular movement of the mouse).

It's your last chance to make that conversion, so whether it's a surprise discount offer or some other offer, it must be irresistible, and still honest.

Check out our 18 exit-intent tips that can help.

In conclusion

While FOMO techniques can help boost your sales, it's important to always be honest with your audience. Share offers that will resonate with them, and make sure every deadline, stock count, and activity notification you show is real. Beyond the legal risk covered above, dishonest FOMO is also just bad long-term marketing.

As soon as you're deceitful about anything, your audience is going to catch on and (worst yet) tune your brand out.

Speaking of FOMO, don't miss out on leveling up your digital marketing process. Consider DailyStory, with such features as automation, dynamic audience segmentation and more. Schedule your free demo with us today.

And check out our all-inclusive Digital Marketing 101 Guide for Beginners!